Drea Knufken
Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., recently released a new book entitled 150 Best Low-Stress Jobs, which helps people with different personalities find low-stress jobs matching their temperaments, interests, and skill sets.
Shatkin (quoted from Yahoo) says that “People should look for a job situation or niche that’s less stressful than the norm. For instance, stress levels are related to the impact of your decisions in life-or-death situations and consequences of your actions on the job.”
A couple of sample jobs from Shatkin’s book:
Mathematician. Make more than $86,000/year with a PhD; work on non-life-threatening theoretical models for a living.
Stressful downside: Lack of romantic life.
Forester. Work outside for around $55,000/year. Patrol parks, clean facilities, protect the forest.
Stressful downside: Dealing with drunk, 14-year-old hunters who have their rifles aimed at your stomach; chasing grizzly bears away from coolers.
Travel Agent. Low levels of conflict and a rather slow-paced schedule make this job a relatively low-stress one.
Stressful downside: Accidentally booking your clients on a flight to Magadan, Siberia rather than Magdelena Beach, Spain.
I recently started petsitting as a low-stress supplement to my blogging work. I figured I could get away from the computer while de-stressing through play, fresh air, and exercise. Turns out petsitting isn’t quite as low-stress as it sounds. Here’s my personal stress lowdown:
Relaxing:
Walking dogs
Playing with pets
Petting pets
Stressful:
Newfoundland leaving 8 pounds of soggy digested material on $5,000 Oriental rug
Australian shepherd vomiting on same rug 6 hours later
Setting off client’s house alarm, leading to a visit by the police
Rogue kitty jumping out second-story window and refusing to come back
Not all relaxing jobs are created equal, that much I have learned.
Anyone out there have a relaxing job you’d like to share?
